Monday, March 30, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Creeping Nationalization
By Russell Roberts on Financial Markets
I call it implicit nationalization. It's no better than the real thing. The New York Times reports: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/business/economy/11bailout.html?_r=1&hp
The list of demands keeps getting longer.
Financial institutions that are getting government bailout funds have been told to put off evictions and modify mortgages for distressed homeowners. They must let shareholders vote on executive pay packages. They must slash dividends, cancel employee training and morale-building exercises, and withdraw job offers to foreign citizens.
As public outrage swells over the rapidly growing cost of bailing out financial institutions, the Obama administration and lawmakers are attaching more and more strings to rescue funds.
The conditions are necessary to prevent Wall Street executives from paying lavish bonuses and buying corporate jets, some experts say, but others say the conditions go beyond protecting taxpayers and border on social engineering.
Some bankers say the conditions have become so onerous that they want to return the bailout money. The list includes small banks like the TCF Financial Corporation of Wayzata, Minn., and Iberia Bank of Lafayette, La., as well as giants like Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo.
They say they plan to return the money as quickly as possible or as soon as regulators set up a process to accept the refunds. On Tuesday, Signature Bank of New York announced that because of new executive pay restrictions in the economic stimulus package, it notified the Treasury that it intended to return the $120 million it had received from the government only three months ago.
I call it implicit nationalization. It's no better than the real thing. The New York Times reports: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/business/economy/11bailout.html?_r=1&hp
The list of demands keeps getting longer.
Financial institutions that are getting government bailout funds have been told to put off evictions and modify mortgages for distressed homeowners. They must let shareholders vote on executive pay packages. They must slash dividends, cancel employee training and morale-building exercises, and withdraw job offers to foreign citizens.
As public outrage swells over the rapidly growing cost of bailing out financial institutions, the Obama administration and lawmakers are attaching more and more strings to rescue funds.
The conditions are necessary to prevent Wall Street executives from paying lavish bonuses and buying corporate jets, some experts say, but others say the conditions go beyond protecting taxpayers and border on social engineering.
Some bankers say the conditions have become so onerous that they want to return the bailout money. The list includes small banks like the TCF Financial Corporation of Wayzata, Minn., and Iberia Bank of Lafayette, La., as well as giants like Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo.
They say they plan to return the money as quickly as possible or as soon as regulators set up a process to accept the refunds. On Tuesday, Signature Bank of New York announced that because of new executive pay restrictions in the economic stimulus package, it notified the Treasury that it intended to return the $120 million it had received from the government only three months ago.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The Fastest, Surest Way to Learn Real Economics
by David Kramer at March 9, 2009 10:02 PM
Forget about reading Austrian Economics. In fact, forget about reading in general. I have finally discovered what is the fastest, surest way to learn real economics: it's listening to NPR (National Public Radio). All you have to do is realize that EVERY SINGLE THING their radio hosts and guests say about economics is 100% FALSE, i.e., that the complete opposite of what they are saying is TRUE economics!
Forget about reading Austrian Economics. In fact, forget about reading in general. I have finally discovered what is the fastest, surest way to learn real economics: it's listening to NPR (National Public Radio). All you have to do is realize that EVERY SINGLE THING their radio hosts and guests say about economics is 100% FALSE, i.e., that the complete opposite of what they are saying is TRUE economics!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
GE CEO Endorses Fascism
Check out the fourth and fifth paragraphs.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=alFhb34_4s_M&refer=home
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=alFhb34_4s_M&refer=home
Monday, March 2, 2009
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